Home > Artist Database > Bio-bibliographic Database > MARTEL, Lucyl
Artist Database
MARTEL, Lucyl
- Born
- Montreal, Quebec, 1922
- Died
- Laval, Quebec, 2015
- Biography synopsis
- Lucyl Martel studied drawing and painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts du Montreal from 1940 to 1949 with Alfred Pellan, whose modern surrealist approach strongly influenced her work. In 1945 Martel's painting of a nude was initially included in a school exhibition along with the controversial works of other students who wanted to confront the conservative academic approach of the school's director. Martel was required by Pellan to paint gouache over the nude, considered "scandalous" by the director; it was eventually restored and exhibited in a 2017 retrospective of her work. In the 1950s Martel participated in a number of the Art Association of Montreal Spring Exhibitions as well as other gallery exhibitions. She was the recipient of the Prix du Consulat de France in 1949 and the Prix du Salon du Printemps of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1952. It is interesting to note that she often signed her name "Luc Martel," which created ambiguity about her gender. In the 1950s, she also undertook theatre, costume, and set design projects for the well-known Quebec duo Felix Leclerc and Guy Mauffette. In the 1960s she was employed as a set designer and model maker for Radio Quebec where she worked for approximately twenty-five years. Her legacy includes hundreds of paintings and drawings.
- Media used
- Drawing
- Painting
- Education
- Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Montreal, 1940 - 1949 (under Alfred Pellan)
- File & Archive locations
- Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, ON
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- "All Trends Represented at 69th Spring Art Exhibition." Montreal Star 10 May 1952:23
- "La Fin d'Annee a l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts." La Patrie 11 Jun. 1946: 20-21
- "Magnifiques Peintures Decoratives au Theatre Ritz." La Voix de l'Est (Granby) 18:233 (17 Sep. 1953)
- "Salon du Printemps." La Presse 4 Mar. 1948: 4
- “Nouvelles des Trois Rivieres.” L’Action Catholique 22 Mar. 1948: 13
- “Salon de peinture aux Trois Rivieres." Le Devoir 29 Mar. 1948: 5
- Beraud, Jean. "Du Nouveau sous Le Soleil." La Presse 2 Apr. 1949: 53.
- de Grandmont, Eloi. "Exposition d'un grand intérêt, chez Parizeau." Le Canada 16 Apr. 1945: ?
- Denechaud, Jean. "Le Salon du Printemps du Musee des Beaux-Arts." La Presse 10 May 1952:23
- Lorimer, B.. "65th Spring Exhibition: Annual Show is Open at Art Association." The Montreal Daily 4 Mar. 1948
- Martel, Johanne and Edith Pregent. Lucyl Martel: Une Jeune Artiste Temoin de Son Temps Les Annees 1940-1950. Vaudreuil Dorion: Musee régionale du Vaudreuil-Solanges, 2017
